Bookmarks (233)

Dow falls 3.1% a day after the Fed chair announces biggest hike in two decades to combat inflationUS stock markets suffered their worst day of the year on Thursday as investors worried about the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates to tackle soaring inflation.The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 1,000 points (3.1%). The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 3.5% and 4.9%...

Plane returns to Heathrow after ‘rostering error’ meant first officer didn’t meet Virgin Atlantic protocolsA Virgin Atlantic aircraft turned back to Heathrow after it emerged the first officer had not completed his final flying test.The Airbus A330 jet was nearly 40 minutes into its journey to New York on Monday when the two pilots on board became aware of the “rostering error”, the airline...

Economists predict minimum 0.25 point rise as households contend with cost of living crisisThe Bank of England is likely to raise interest rates to the highest level since the recession caused by the 2008 financial crisis, despite mounting concern that the economy is weakening amid the cost of living crisis.City economists widely expect the Bank will increase its base rate by at least 0.25...

Tunnelled section of £19bn project through centre of London finally ready for passengersLondon’s Elizabeth Line is to open on 24 May, it has been announced, with the long-delayed tunnelled central section of the £19bn Crossrail project now ready for passengers.Transport for London said the line would open, subject to final safety approvals, the week prior to the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. Continue reading...

Former Ferrari boss Amedeo Felisa will take over as chief executive of British carmakerAston Martin has appointed its third chief executive in three years, with Tobias Moers stepping down after only two years in charge.Moers will leave the board of the British carmaker with immediate effect but will stay until the end of July to “support the leadership team with a smooth transition”, Aston...

Labour says George Eustice’s advice to shoppers facing rising prices is ‘woefully out of touch’Shoppers can deal with soaring food prices and cope with the cost of living crisis by choosing value brands in the supermarket, the environment secretary has suggested.George Eustice, the cabinet minister overseeing food and farming, told Sky News food prices were going up because of the knock-on effect of higher...

Government users may also be charged, says billionaire, who has agreed to buy platform for $44bnElon Musk has said Twitter may charge a “slight” fee for commercial and government users, in the latest hint of the changes the world’s richest person could introduce after he completes his takeover of the social media platform.“Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight...

Inputting mistake led to suspension of trading on several markets after sudden steep fallsThe US bank Citigroup has said that one of its traders made an error when European stock markets suffered a “flash crash” on Monday.Trading was briefly suspended in several European markets on Monday morning, after leading share indices recorded sudden steep declines. One of the hardest hit was Sweden’s benchmark OMX...

Unions criticise ‘obscene’ results as company beats forecasts thanks to high oil and gas pricesBP’s profits more than doubled to $6.2bn (£5bn) in the first three months of the year, the highest quarterly profit in more than a decade, helped by soaring oil and gas prices.It was more than the $4.5bn expected by analysts and has prompted renewed calls for a windfall tax on...

PM rejects prospect of windfall tax on oil and gas companies but accepts ‘there is more that we can do’Today’s politics news – live updatesBoris Johnson has admitted that the government has not done enough to alleviate the pain of the cost of living crisis, as he struggled to articulate any extra help that a pensioner choosing between heating and eating could access.The prime...

Rise to 0.35% increases median monthly home loan repayment by up to $118, but rates predicted to reach 2% in a year’s timeGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesThe Reserve Bank of Australia has acted to lift interest rates from emergency lows at its 3 May meeting to curb soaring inflation hitting...

Sixty-three per cent of people said CEOs should be paid no more than 10 times earnings of lower- or mid-ranking employeesSix in 10 people think company bosses should be prevented from earning more than 10 times the average paid to employees, according to polling shared exclusively with the Guardian.A poll for the High Pay Centre, a thinktank that campaigns for fairer pay for workers,...

Japanese gaming company behind Final Fantasy series secures deal with Sweden-based EmbracerThe Japanese gaming company behind Final Fantasy is selling off three studios, including the rights to hit franchises including Tomb Raider, in a $300m (£240m) deal.Tokyo-based Square Enix has sold US-headquartered Crystal Dynamics and Canada-based Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal to the Nasdaq-listed Swedish gaming group Embracer. Continue reading...

Rise in energy and ingredient costs suggests consumers will have to pay more for well-known brands• Sign up to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7amThe consumer goods firm Unilever has said “unprecedented cost inflation” lies ahead as Russia’s war on Ukraine has added to a surge in energy and ingredient costs, suggesting that shoppers are likely to pay...

Supermarket says ‘significant’ cost inflation is denting margins and squeezing customers’ spare cash• Sign up to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7amSainsbury’s has warned profits will fall in the year ahead as it faces “significant external pressures” including cost inflation and a squeeze on its customers’ spare cash.The UK’s second-largest supermarket said it expected to make a full-year...

The 2022 scheme is more limited – and expensive – than the original but is billed as a big step in reopening the backpacker marketGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingThe so-called ten pound Pom scheme has been reborn as a tourism campaign to bring British backpackers back to Australia in the wake of the pandemic.After the second world war, the...

Bank puts aside extra cash to cover potential loan defaults amid fears over effects from Ukraine war Barclays has become the latest UK bank to warn over the impact of the cost of living crisis, saying that its customers were already facing “harder conditions” as a result of surging inflation.It came as the bank put aside an extra £141m to cover potential defaults on...

The Facebook parent company is continuing a major rebrand of its products and focusing more heavily on the metaverseMeta made a cautious recovery on Wednesday with its first earnings report since a disastrous fourth quarter, sending shares up 13% in after-hours trading. The company’s reported total revenue for the quarter was $27.91bn, missing analysts’ estimates of $28.20bn, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Wednesday’s...

Bank warns of more loan defaults amid cost of living crisis as it reports 14% fall in first-quarter pre-tax profitLloyds Banking Group has raised concerns over the UK economy’s “uncertain” outlook, warning the cost of living crisis had already forced customers to cut spending on services such as streaming and gyms and could mean more defaults on its loans.Lloyds, the country’s largest mortgage lender...

Deputy PM says cabinet still working through ideas, while not dismissing call for higher defence spendingLatest politics news - live updatesDominic Raab has come under pressure over the UK government’s failure to come up with policies to tackle the cost of living, while not ruling out higher defence spending.The deputy prime minister was on Wednesday questioned on the government’s lack of big ideas to...

Investors worry Elon Musk may have to sell Tesla shares to fund Twitter deal, as global stocks slide and US dollar rises to pandemic highGerman consumer morale falls to historic low heading into MayP&O Ferries has resumed cross-Channel sailings for the first time since it sacked almost 800 seafarers.The vessel Spirit of Britain departed Dover for Calais shortly after 11pm on Tuesday carrying freight...

Company, which was criticised for replacing almost 800 seafarers, restarts freight customer servicesP&O Ferries has resumed cross-Channel sailings for the first time since it sacked almost 800 seafarers.The vessel Spirit of Britain departed Dover for Calais shortly after 11pm on Tuesday carrying freight customers, while passenger services are expected to resume early next week. Continue reading...

Fears that carmaker’s CEO may have to sell shares to fund $44bn acquisition of social networkToday’s business news – live updatesInvestors have wiped $126bn (£100bn) off Tesla’s value amid concern that Elon Musk may have to sell shares in the electric carmaker to fund his personal contribution to his $44bn acquisition of Twitter.Tesla stock has been targeted despite the company not being involved in...

Logistics firm self-reported almost 3,000 violations of sanctions targeting terrorism and regimes in North Korea, Iran and Syria, US treasury saysGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingThe Australian company Toll Holdings must pay US$6.1m for its “reckless disregard” of US sanctions targeting terrorism, the manufacturing of weapons of mass destruction and regimes in North Korea, Iran and Syria.Toll committed almost 3,000...